About DARE ME AGAIN:

Love is a risk worth taking in this sizzling romance about secrets and second chances…

Scarlett Devereaux’s life on the Gulf Coast went from riches to rags so scandalously fast that she barely had time to kiss her Jimmy Choos goodbye. Now, with a new alias (Lily Barns), a new budget (tighter than a pair of Spanx), and a new job on the vacation island of Angel Fire Falls, she’s daring to reinvent herself.

Single dad Trace Remington is devoted first and foremost to raising his young son, who has Asperger’s. With flying his floatplane and salvaging his family’s island resort too, he has time for little else. His brothers think he needs a break from his all-work-no-play lifestyle, so they goad him into action. In response to their dare, Trace asks a sexy tourist for her number, only to discover afterward that she’s the resort’s brilliant new hospitality manager.

The sparks of flirtation soon ignite into a flame too hot to ignore. But Lily and Trace both have pasts that threaten to tear them apart. Now, they’ll need to admit their secrets to each other…or risk ending their relationship before it really begins.

Excerpt:

Elliott didn’t know she’d been hired as the new dog trainer. “What do you want?” he asked.

Right. This wasn’t going to be awkward. Not in the least. “I’m here for the boot camp.” Rebel chose her words carefully, the heat of his stare licking over her like fire.

Rem pulled on the leash, and she released enough slack for him to sit flush against Elliott, who immediately stepped away. Rem followed. Instead of taking another step back, Elliott focused on the dog, like he was really seeing the service vest for the first time.

His eyes widened.

“You’re staying here? To train your dog?” His head snapped up, his voice a mixture of shock and disbelief.

“No,” Rebel responded. “Well, yes. I’m the new tr—”

A horn beeped and a white Jeep appeared, coming from the lane she knew led to the residential cottages where members of the family lived. The Jeep pulled around the drive and parked.

A young boy jumped out of the passenger seat and lumbered toward the duck. “Waddles!”

It didn’t seem to startle the duck at all. In fact, the duck waddled in the boy’s direction as fast and furious as his legs would carry him. The boy scooped him up into a hug, and the duck settled against the kid’s chest like they were long-lost pals.

Rebel had never seen anything like it, except with therapy dogs. But a therapy duck?

It was incredible. And totally awesome.

“Hi, Uncle Elliott,” the boy half yelled. Then he skipped all the way into the game room.

So one of the Remington brothers had a kid.

A pretty woman with light-brown hair, about Rebel’s age, climbed out of the driver’s seat and hurried over with an iPad in her hand. When she got close enough, Rebel recognized her from their video calls. “Rebel Tate?” Lily offered a friendly wave as she approached.

“Yes.” Rebel glanced at Elliott.

His hard body grew even more stiff, tension rolling off him. Rem whined and pressed into Elliott, who seemed to grow confused at the dog’s attention.

Rebel tightened her grip on the leash to prevent a replay of the dog-and-hottie show she’d just witnessed.

“Ms. McGill just called me from the ferry terminal and said you were on your way.” Lily stopped within arm’s reach and held out her hand.

Rebel shook it. “I hope it’s okay that I came early. I’m excited about the camp and wanted extra time to prepare.” They didn’t need to know the extra prep time was for her to get her bearings before the inevitable confrontation.

She glanced at Elliott’s scowling face. Definitely an epic fail.

“It’s perfectly fine. I see you two have met.” Lily shifted her friendly expression to Elliott. “Rebel is the expert dog whisperer we’ve hired for the boot camp.”

Elliott’s scowl deepened like he was in physical pain.

Rebel stared down at a blade of grass like it was the most fascinating shade of green she’d ever seen. Besides Elliott’s ridiculously beautiful eyes, of course.

Rem whined. Stepped toward Rebel, then back to Elliott like he couldn’t decide who was the most stressed.

Lily’s expression blanked, and she gave them both a confused look. “What’s going on?”

When Elliott didn’t offer a response, Rebel spoke up. “Elliott and I already know each other. I grew up on the island.”

Elliott shrugged. “Not really all that small. It’s big enough for a person to run away and hide. For years.”

That one stung.

“Look, I—” Didn’t want to let you go. Didn’t want to drag you down. She definitely didn’t want to bring up their history right then and there. She lifted her chin. “I’m here to work, and I guarantee I’ll do a great job with the camp.”

“Great!” Lily obviously thought that settled it. “The sponsor put together profiles for each veteran.” She tapped on the screen of her iPad. “I’m forwarding those to you as we speak. Why don’t I show you to your room, then you can spend the rest of the day getting reacquainted with the Remington, since you weren’t scheduled to start until tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,”

Rebel said.

At the same time Elliott said, “Not happening.”

That awkward pause was back, and Rebel cleared her throat. “I agreed to work with you, Lily. Whatever you want is fine with me.”

“Actually.” The nearly undetectable hesitation in Lily’s voice made the hair on Rebel’s arms prickle. “You’ll be working with Elliott while you’re here. He’ll be in charge of the boot camp.”

And the situation just skyrocketed from awkward to downright nightmarish.

The first book in Shelly Alexander’s Angel Fire Falls series is on sale for .99c now – find out more about it below and grab your copy today!

About DARE ME ONCE:

Love is a risk worth taking in this sizzling romance about secrets and second chances…

Scarlett Devereaux’s life on the Gulf Coast went from riches to rags so scandalously fast that she barely had time to kiss her Jimmy Choos goodbye. Now, with a new alias (Lily Barns), a new budget (tighter than a pair of Spanx), and a new job on the vacation island of Angel Fire Falls, she’s daring to reinvent herself.

Single dad Trace Remington is devoted first and foremost to raising his young son, who has Asperger’s. With flying his floatplane and salvaging his family’s island resort too, he has time for little else. His brothers think he needs a break from his all-work-no-play lifestyle, so they goad him into action. In response to their dare, Trace asks a sexy tourist for her number, only to discover afterward that she’s the resort’s brilliant new hospitality manager.

The sparks of flirtation soon ignite into a flame too hot to ignore. But Lily and Trace both have pasts that threaten to tear them apart. Now, they’ll need to admit their secrets to each other…or risk ending their relationship before it really begins.

About Shelly Alexander:

Shelly Alexander is an Amazon Bestseller in multiple categories and a 2014 Golden Heart® finalist. Shelly grew up traveling the world, earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing, and worked in the business world for twenty-five years. With four older brothers, Shelly and her sister watched every Star Trek episode ever made, joined the softball team instead of ballet class, and played with G.I. Joes while the Barbie Corvette stayed tucked in the closet. When she had three sons of her own, she decided to escape her male-dominated world by reading romance novels and has been hooked ever since. Now, she spends her days writing contemporary romances that are sometimes sweet, sometimes sizzling, and always sassy. She enjoys the arid climate of the beautiful Southwest where she lives with her husband and two toy poodles named Mozart and the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.